Joining us at 4+

Willington School offers an education to boys who would benefit from the all-round experience we provide. For admission to the Reception Class, early registration is advised and many parents like to register with us even before their son has celebrated his first birthday. Although registration at least 12 months in advance of the September in which your son would join Willington is encouraged, this is not a requirement of the process.

Normally about 11 months prior to the start of your son’s expected first term at Willington, we will write to offer you a Parent Contract and to invite you to pay the deposit (currently £1,500). The deposit will form part of the general funds of the School and will only be repaid at the end of your son’s final term at Willington in Year 8. Places will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis on receipt of both the deposit and the signed acceptance form. Once all places are secured, the school moves to a waiting list system, although families who already have a son at the school receive preference in the event of there being more families applying than we have places available.

At the end of the Spring Term before your son is due to start at Willington, the School will invite you to confirm your allocated place by paying the first term’s fees by the first day of the Summer Term. Otherwise, invoices will be sent out at the end of each preceding term and fees will be payable by or on the first day of the term.

Once a family has a secured place, the Reception Class team will usually visit your son at his current nursery during the Spring Term prior to admission. We will not ask your son to sit an academic test. Our emphasis is on boys being ready for school, ie that they enjoy the experience of learning new things and that they are able to cope with a full day in school, away from home.

A series of events to help both you and your son become familiar with his new school take place during the Spring and Summer Terms. These events include a Saturday Reception Induction Morning and a weekday Meet the Teacher Morning to enable the boys to spend time in their new classroom with their teacher and a New Parents' Information Evening. However, the highlight is always the much anticipated New Boys' Picnic, which is usually held at our playing fields at the end of the Summer holidays. This annual event sees parents and their son, often accompanied by brothers and sisters, joining staff to usher in the new academic year and the start of a wonderful journey together.